Impact Absorption Possible Dumbbell and Barbell Disk

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an impact absorbing dumbbell and an impact absorbing barbell disk. The impact absorbing dumbbell includes an outer cover prepared by cutting a flexible member into a dumbbell and sewing the cut flexible member, thereby having a dumbbell shape, a cylindrical tubular body installed inside the middle portion of the outer cover for serving as a handle and keeping the dumbbell shape, and weight constituent powder charged in the outer cover. The impact absorbing barbell disk includes an outer cover prepared by cutting a flexible member into a barbell disk and sewing the cut flexible member, thereby having a barbell disk shape, weight constituent powder charged in the outer cover, and a bushing made of metal or synthetic resin, the bushing being inserted and fixed in the central shaft hole of the outer cover.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a dumbbell and a barbell disk, bothbeing capable of absorbing impact, in which the impact absorbingdumbbell and the impact absorbing barbell disk include a flexible outercover having a dumbbell shape or a barbell disk shape and are made ofsynthetic fabric, natural fabric or synthetic rubber, and weightconstituent powder, such as iron powder or sand, charged in the flexibleouter cover. The dumbbell and the barbell disk further include acylindrical tubular body made of synthetic resin, foam resin, sponge,EVA or the like installed inside or outside the dumbbell, and serving asa handle of a dumbbell, or a bushing installed in a central hole of theouter cover having a doughnut shape and made of synthetic resin ormetal.

BACKGROUND ART

A general dumbbell was made by processing iron, and was structured suchthat weights are coupled to both ends of a cylindrical bar, which can beeasily held with the hands. The conventional dumbbell has thedisadvantage of easily rusting. Accordingly, the conventional dumbbellhas not been used for a long time.

An improved dumbbell is made of metal by a molding method using amolding cast, and the metal dumbbell is coated with synthetic resincapable of having many different colors.

Aluminum, which is the material generally used for manufacturing theimproved dumbbell, has an advantage of being relatively cheap withrespect to other metals, but the improved dumbbell made by molding hasthe disadvantage of being brittle, so that it can easily break when itis dropped. Thus, there is a problem in that a user can be harmed bybroken pieces of the dumbbell, and the manufacturer of the dumbbell mustcompensate for damages, due to the product liability (PL) law, when auser is injured. Further, if the dumbbell is dropped on a body part of auser, such as the top of a foot, the body part can be injured or broken.

In order to solve these problems, a new type of dumbbell comprising adumbbell outer cover made of synthetic resin and iron powder or sandcharged in the dumbbell outer cover has been suggested. The new type ofdumbbell is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No.1999-0005189 and Korean Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No.1999-0039172. However, this dumbbell, which can overcome thedisadvantage of the brittle dumbbell made of metal through a moldingmethod, also has the disadvantage of not being able to absorb impactwhen the dumbbell is dropped.

The above-referenced prior arts disclose sufficient methods ofovercoming safety concerns about a body part of a user being injuredwhen the dumbbell is dropped onto the body part of a user. Further, in aprior art, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0291028, it isdisclosed that a dumbbell made by charging water and iron powder in anon-rigid resin cover can reduce impact applied to a body part of a userwhen it is dropped onto the body part of a user.

However, in all the above described dumbbells, the outer covers of thedumbbells are made of synthetic resin through an extrusion moldingmethod, and the outer covers made by the extrusion molding method arenot flexible but rigid. Accordingly, when the dumbbells are dropped on abody part of a user, the dumbbells cannot completely absorb impact thatcould cause damage to a user's body part, but only alleviate the degreeof impact applied to a user.

That is, due to the non-flexible characteristic of synthetic resin, theinitial outer contour of the outer cover made of the synthetic resin ismaintained. Accordingly, even though the outer cover is charged withiron powder or sand, the dumbbell poorly absorbs impact because thecontour of the outer cover does not change in response to an externalpressure.

Further, since a molding cast is needed to manufacture a synthetic resinouter cover of the dumbbell through an extrusion molding method, themanufacturing cost is high because when expense is incurred whenpreparing the molding cast is incurred.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention is devised in consideration of theaforementioned problems and situations, and it is an object of thepresent invention to provide an impact absorbing dumbbell and barbelldisk, which almost never break and are capable of protecting a user frominjuring when they hit a body part of a user, by absorbing impact.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an impactabsorbing dumbbell and barbell disk that can be manufactured withoutusing an extrusion molding cast, thereby being capable of beingmanufactured at low cost.

Technical Solution

In order to achieve the above described objects, there is provided animpact absorbable dumbbell and an impact absorbable barbell diskcomprising an outer cover, prepared by cutting and sewing a flexiblemember, and weight constituent powder, such as iron powder or sand,which is charged in the outer cover, has a predetermined weight, and canfreely move in the outer cover, so that the outer contour of thedumbbell freely varies.

The flexible member is prepared by cutting fabric, made of natural fiberor synthetic fiber, or synthetic rubber into a predetermined shape andsewing the fabric or the rubber into a dumbbell or a barbell disk shape.

In order to maintain the shape of a dumbbell, a cylindrical tubular bodyis installed inside or outside the outer cover, which is made ofsynthetic resin, foam resin, sponge, or EVA in order to absorb impact.In the case of a barbell disk having a doughnut shape, a bushing havinga cylindrical shape is inserted in a central shaft hole of the outercover of the barbell disk, so that a shaft bar can be easily insertedthrough the center shaft hole. The bushing is made of synthetic resin ormetal.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

As known from the above description, the impact absorbable dumbbell andthe impact absorbable barbell disk according to the present inventionhave excellent ability to absorb impact and overcome the problem of theconventional dumbbell and barbell disk, which can only slightlyalleviate impact but cannot completely absorb impact. Accordingly, thedumbbell and the barbell disk according to the present invention canprevent a user from being injured when the user drops them on a bodypart, particularly on the foot, and are almost never broken or damagedwhen they collide against rigid objects. The dumbbell and the barbelldisk according to the present invention can be manufactured at low costbecause a molding cast is not necessary in a manufacturing processthereof. Accordingly, manufacturers can provide customers with dumbbellsand barbell disks with quality and at a price that will ensurecompetitiveness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a dumbbell in a partially cutaway state, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the dumbbell shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a dumbbell in a partially cutaway state, according to a further one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the dumbbell shown in FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a barbell disk in a partiallycut away state, according to a still further embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the barbell diskshown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are longitudinal sectional views illustrating abarbell disk according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a dumbbell in a partially cut away state according toone embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 illustrates alongitudinal section of the dumbbell shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS.1 and 2, a cylindrical tubular body 12 is installed inside a flexibleouter cover 11 in order to form the shape of the dumbbell 10.

The dumbbell 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises the flexible outercover 11 prepared by cutting and sewing a flexible member into adumbbell shape, the cylindrical tubular body 12 inserted in the middleportion of the outer cover 11 to allow a user to easily hold thedumbbell 10 and to make the outer cover maintain a dumbbell shape, andiron powder 13 or sand 13 charged in the outer cover 11.

The flexible outer cover 11 is made of fiber but is not specificallylimited thereto. For example, the flexible outer cover 11 can be made ofsynthetic fabric made by processing synthetic resin into synthetic fiberand weaving the synthetic fiber, natural fabric prepared by extracting ayam from a natural substance, such as cottons, and weaving the yarn, orsynthetic rubber, such as Neoprene. The flexible outer cover 11 can beprepared from any material selected from among the above describedmaterials or their equivalents.

The cylindrical tubular body 12 must be made of a material capable ofmaintaining a dumbbell shape having a thin middle portion serving as ahandle and enlarged end portions provided at both ends of the thinmiddle portion while the outer cover is charged with weight constituentpowder, such as iron powder or sand, having a predetermined weight, andcapable of absorbing impact. For example, the tubular body 12 is made ofsynthetic resin, such as EVA or PVC, or foam resin having apredetermined rigidity, such as sponge. Thanks to the tubular body 12,the contour of a holding portion of the flexible outer cover 11 can bemaintained, and further, the contour of the dumbbell is maintained.

MODE FOR THE INVENTION

FIG. 3 illustrates a dumbbell in a partially cut away state, accordingto a further embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 illustratesa longitudinal section of the dumbbell shown in FIG. 3. A cylindricaltubular body 12 is installed in the outer surface of a flexible outercover 11. The dumbbell according to this embodiment is the same as thedumbbell shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that the tubular body 12 isinstalled outside the outer cover 11, instead of being installed insidethe outer cover 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the dumbbell 10 comprises the flexible outercover 11 prepared by cutting a flexible material into a dumbbell shapeand sewing it, the cylindrical tubular body 12 installed outside thedumbbell-shaped flexible outer cover 11, particularly in a middleportion of the outer cover 11, to allow a user to comfortably hold thedumbbell 10, and weight constituent powder 13 charged in the flexibleouter cover 11.

The flexible outer cover 11 is not specifically limited, and it hasflexibility. As described above, the flexible outer cover 11 is made ofsynthetic fabric, natural fabric, synthetic rubber or their equivalents.The cylindrical tubular body 12 is made of synthetic resin, such as EVAor PVC, or foam resin, such as sponge, having relatively high rigidity.

FIG. 5 illustrates a barbell disk in a partially cut away state,according to a still further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6is a sectional view of the barbell disk 20 shown in FIG. 5, to beinstalled on both end portions of a central shaft bar of a barbell.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the barbell disk 20 comprises a flexibleouter cover 21 having a doughnut shape with a central shaft hole, weightconstituent power 22 charged in the flexible outer cover 21 and abushing 23 provided in the central shaft hole of the outer cover 21.

The flexible outer cover 21 is made of a flexible material, such asfabric. As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the materialof the flexible outer cover 21 can be selected from the group consistingof synthetic fabric, natural fabric, synthetic rubber and theirequivalents. The bushing 23 is made of synthetic resin or metal.

The bushing 23 can be fixed to the flexible outer cover 21 by applyingan adhesive on the outer surface of the bushing 23 and attaching theouter surface of the bushing 23 to the surface of the central shaft holeof the flexible outer cover 21. Alternatively the bushing 23 can becoupled to the flexible outer cover 21 by placing the bushing 23 in thecentral shaft hole of the flexible outer cover 21 and riveting thebushing 23 and the flexible outer cover 21 together.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a cross-section of a barbell disk according toa still further embodiment of the present invention, and in particularillustrate the coupling state between the flexible outer cover 21 andthe bushing 23.

Referring to FIG. 7, the bushing 23 is structured such that it has alength longer than the width of the flexible outer cover 21 and hasoutward protrusions. The opposite ends of the outer cover 21 in a widthdirection are positioned to be in close contact with the inner surfacesof respective outward protrusions, so that the flexible outer cover 21can be stably fixed on the circumferential outer surface of the bushing23. Thanks to this structure, the flexible outer cover 21 and thebushing 23 are not easily separated from each other. In particular, inthe case that the flexible outer cover 21 is made of synthetic rubber,it is possible to easily detach the flexible outer cover 21 from thebushing 23 due to elasticity of the rubber.

Referring to FIG. 8, when sewing the flexible outer cover 21, the innerspace defined in the flexible outer cover 21 is divided into a pluralityof compartments by dividing members. In this case, the weightconstituent powder is separately charged in the separated compartmentsin the outer cover, so that the weight constituent power moves in asmall space. Accordingly, it is relatively easy to maintain the contourof the barbell disk.

Since the outer cover 11 and 21 is prepared by selecting a flexiblemember, cutting the flexible member into a desired shape, and sewing theflexible member having the desired shape, a molding cast formanufacturing the flexible cover 11 and 21 is not required.

The dumbbell and the barbell disk are not broken by external impact, andcan completely absorb impact when they are bump against a rigid objector a human body regardless of the degree of impact since the bumpedportion becomes depressed as the weight constituent powder moves in thespace in the outer cover of the dumbbell or the barbell disk. The depthof the depression formed in the dumbbell or the barbell disk variesaccording to the degree of impact.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. An impact absorbing dumbbell as an exercise implement, comprising: anouter cover prepared by cutting a flexible member into a dumbbell andsewing the cut flexible member, thereby having a dumbbell shape; acylindrical tubular body installed inside a middle portion of the outercover for serving as a handle and keeping the dumbbell shape; and weightconstituent powder charged in the outer cover.
 2. The impact absorbingdumbbell as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical tubular body isinstalled to encompass the middle portion of the outer cover instead ofbeing installed to be inserted in the outer cover.
 3. The impactabsorbing dumbbell as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible outercover is made of synthetic fabric, natural fabric, or synthetic rubber.4. The impact absorbing dumbbell as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecylindrical tubular body is made of synthetic resin, such as EVA or PVC,foam resin having high rigidity, or synthetic rubber.
 5. An impactabsorbing barbell disk having a central shaft hole, serving as anexercise implement, comprising: an outer cover prepared by cutting aflexible member into a barbell disk and sewing the cut flexible member,thereby having a barbell disk shape; weight constituent powder chargedin the outer cover; and a bushing made of metal or synthetic resin, thebushing being inserted and fixed in the central shaft hole of the outercover.
 6. The impact absorbing barbell as claimed in claim 5, wherein atleast two sheets of the flexible members having the same shape are sewnso as to overlap in order to divide an inner space of the flexible outercover into a plurality of compartments, so that the weight constituentpower is separately charged in the compartments.
 7. The impact absorbingbarbell as claimed in claim 5, wherein the flexible outer cover is madeof synthetic fabric, natural fabric, or synthetic rubber.
 8. The impactabsorbing dumbbell as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible outercover is made of synthetic fabric, natural fabric, or synthetic rubber.9. The impact absorbing dumbbell as claimed in claim 2, wherein thecylindrical tubular body is made of synthetic resin, such as EVA or PVC,foam resin having high rigidity, or synthetic rubber.
 10. The impactabsorbing barbell as claimed in claim 6, wherein the flexible outercover is made of synthetic fabric, natural fabric, or synthetic rubber.